UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I (formerly Division I-A). UCLA is second to only Stanford University as the school with the most NCAA team championships at 121 NCAA team championships. UCLA offers 11 varsity sports programs for men and 14 for women. UCLA is scheduled to join the Big Ten Conference with their crosstown rival, USC, in 2024. History Upon its founding, UCLA joined the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). In 1927, UCLA left the SCIAC and joined the Pacific Coast Conference, the forerunner of the Pac-12 Conference. Nickname and mascot Upon UCLA's founding as the Southern Branch of the University of California in 1919, the football team was known as the "Cubs" because of its younger relationship to the California Bears in Berkeley. In 1923, the team adopted the nickname "Grizzlies." In 1926, the Grizzlies became the 10th and final member of the Pacific Coast Conference, which already included the University of Montana Grizzlies. The school, which had taken the "University of California at Los Angeles" name that year, became the "Bruins" and has been recognized as such in the years since.